


Fox Next Door

by muldersboyishenthousiasm



Category: The X-Files
Genre: F/M, Other characters mentioned - Freeform, probably a series in making
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-22
Updated: 2018-03-25
Packaged: 2019-04-06 16:42:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,116
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14061114
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/muldersboyishenthousiasm/pseuds/muldersboyishenthousiasm
Summary: Fox Mulder is Dana Scully's new neighbour.





	1. Chapter 1

_Knock! Knock!_

Scully went to her door and opened it to reveal her new neighbour in his rumpled T-Shirt and khakis. She had been tempted earlier this week to go and offer him a proper welcome, but work had kept her busy.

‘Hi! My name is Fox Mulder,’ he stretched his hand to grab hers and she lowered her eyes to his long fingers.

‘Dana Scully,’ she replied with a nod.

‘Hi, Dana Scully,’ he smiled, ‘I just moved in last week and I still have to fill up my fridge. So…’

‘I know, you and your friends were monopolising the elevator’ she interrupted him numbly. ‘I saw you struggling to get that big leather couch inside the apartment building. I hope the small guy with the glasses’ back is okay.’

‘You seem to be quite the observant one!’ he chuckled. ‘And Frohike was just pretending as to not have to lift anything heavy. At least Byers and Langly were quite eager to help me.’

‘Byers…’

‘…is the well-dressed one and Langly is blond,’ he completed.

Her eyes shifted to his mouth and the glossy plumb lower lip.

‘I’m a pathologist working at Quantico. Finding details is important in my line of duty,’ she explained.

She mentally slapped herself. She didn’t want to sound obnoxious and yet… His hazel eyes ran up and down along her small frame and he offered her a boyish smile.

‘For the FBI? Interesting.’

She felt embarrassed under his scrutiny and wished he would go back to his own flat already. She shuffled her feet and then straightened her back.

‘How can I be of any use to you, Fox?’

‘Call me Mulder,’ he frowned. 

‘Okay… Mulder. Call me Scully, then,’ she replied tit for tat. ‘What did you say you needed?’   

‘Oh! Right,’ he tousled his hair with his fingers and put his hands in his pockets. ‘Could I borrow some butter please?’ Mulder with a slight hesitation.

She blinked twice and let him in. While he was closing the door behind him, she headed to her fridge to retrieve a brick of butter. She cut a generous slice and wrapped it in a plastic pellicule. She went back to the hall where her neighbour was humming a tune she immediately recognised.

‘ _Joy to the World_?’ she asked while holding the butter for him to take.

‘You know  _The Three Dog Night_?’ he exclaimed with obvious glee.

‘Yes, they are my favourite band.’

‘I’m more of an Elvis kind of guy but I enjoy other types of music as well.’

He flashed that boyish grin again and she almost felt her heart flipping in her ribbcage.

‘We should listen to some music sometimes. Together.’

 _Sure. Fine. Whatever_ , she thought.

He turned to leave after thanking her for the butter.

‘If you need anything else, you know where to knock!’  

The second her words escaped from her mouth she felt her cheeks growing hot. She thought she might have heard another chuckle escape from her handsome neighbour.


	2. Pool time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scully goes for a swim.

Dana had just finished eating her supper about one hour ago and was lounging on her couch. Her day had been exhausting; two autopsies in the morning, followed by three one-hour classes.

 

She had barely finished swallowing her cream cheese bagel when Agent Jerry Lamana had popped in with his usual stupid grin plastered on his equally unattractive face. He had requested her expertise two or three times this week and she had endured his coffee breath more than necessary.

"Hi, Dr. Scully! Could I invite you out for a drink after office hours today?" he had chanted while coming inside the morgue.

She had her back to him and was hunched over a small body for the last twenty minutes. Thus, Dana had time to roll her eyes before he reached the other side of the metallic table.

"Sorry, Agent Lamana," she sighed, "I already have some plans."

 The blond man frowned and put his hands in his pockets.

"Well, that's a shame," he replied. "I made a reservation at the brand new italian restaurant on Fredericksburg. Guess I'll have to find another beautiful lady to come with."

Dana had smiled trying to look sorry but she frankly just wanted to facepalm herself. He was such a jerk.

"Could you hand me the chart, please?"

Jerry had left shortly after, leaving her to her own thoughts. She could only dream about taking a bath that night and relaxing in front of a bad chick-flick.

 

So there she was, she had eaten some salmon, with a green salad and poured herself a glass of wine. It was Friday night after all. But she was rapidly getting bored with the movie and considered going to bed early. The problem was: she wasn't sleepy at all.

She finally made up her mind and turned off the TV before heading towards her bedroom. She undressed and put on her swimsuit. She picked a soft bath towel and tied her hair in a loose ponytail.

A minute later she was walking down the stairs of her apartment building before going to the indoor pool. At this time of the day, she knew she would be on her own and could have the pool to herself.

During her time at uni she used to swim thrice a week at least. When she needed the break from schoolwork and college life, she would put on her swimsuit, her worn out hoodie and some flip flops and basically run towards the swimming pool. It was also there that she had met her first official boyfriend.

 

Tonight, as usual, the pool was empty and she walked to the furthest corner of the room. She laid her towel on the plastic chair and and put on her swimming googles. She patted her hair one last time before stopping in front of the deepside and eyed it with a smile. She couldn't wait to jump in. 

She stretched one last time and dove elegantly. The coolness of the water refreshed her warm skin and she glided skillfully to the other end of the pool. She made a flip turn and swam back to where she'd jumped. She swam 200m before taking a short break. She practiced her eggbeater kick and pulled the googles from her eyes before putting them on the floor. That's when she saw him.

A shriek of terror escaped her delicate mouth and she almost drown herself from swallowing two cups of water in her panic. His only reaction was an infuriating smirk before throwing his head back and laughing like a kid proud of his prank. She grabbed the concrete side of the pool and gasped.

"What the fuck Mulder?"


End file.
